Last month, an honest professional pooper scooper gained media attention for returning money left behind by a client’s dog. Steve Wilson was working at Karen Linn's house and found $58 in bills entwined in a pile of poop[4]. The DoodyCalls Pet Waste removal worker promptly cleaned the bills and returned them to Linn. She offered Wilson a reward, which he declined, so in honor of her adopted pup, Fozzie, Linn decided to auction the bills on eBay[5] to benefit the Humane Society of the United States.

Ever since dogs entered my life, I find that I spend a lot of time looking at the ground. When you scoop poop on a regular basis you end up finding lots of random items this way. While walking the dogs one March, I once found a friend’s spare set of keys that had been unknowingly lost for months under the melting snow.

As for the poop itself, I usually inspect my dogs’ since it can be a good indicator of health, and I often end up finding pieces of missing household items like sponges and socks. I have yet to find anything valuable, which is a good thing!